Key takeaways:
- Florida’s glyphosate testing found detectable residues in several bread products, but all results fell well within federally established safety limits.
- Baking and grain groups warn that publishing trace residue data without regulatory context risks confusing detection with food safety risk.
- The episode highlights a growing tension between food safety regulation and how chemical test results are interpreted by consumers.
Florida has expanded its food transparency efforts once again, following earlier state-led testing that flagged arsenic in candy and heavy metals and pesticides in infant formula. Those results were previously announced by Governor Ron DeSantis as part of a broader push to scrutinize chemicals in everyday foods.
The latest round of testing shifts the focus to bread – a staple consumed daily by millions of Americans. State-commissioned analysis by the Florida Department of Health found detectable glyphosate residues in six of eight popular bread products sold in grocery stores across the state, under the Healthy Florida First initiative.
The testing examined eight bread products across five national brands commonly available to consumers. Glyphosate – the herbicide best known as the active ingredient in Roundup – was detected in the majority of the loaves tested.
State officials described the results as troubling and said the data was intended to give families clearer insight into what is present in staple foods that are consumed regularly.
Backed by Governor Ron DeSantis, First Lady Casey DeSantis and State Surgeon General Dr Joseph Ladapo, the findings were presented as a consumer information measure, with officials arguing that families deserve greater visibility into chemical residues in foods eaten daily. The state also pointed to potential risks associated with chronic exposure, particularly given bread’s role as a dietary mainstay.
For the baking industry, however, the issue isn’t the testing itself, but how the results are being framed. Glyphosate is one of the most extensively reviewed agricultural chemicals in the world, with federally established tolerances governing its presence in food.
No federal limits were breached. No recalls were issued. But industry groups have cautioned that highlighting trace detections without regulatory context risks blurring a critical line – the difference between detection and danger. That distinction, they argue, is clear in regulation but far less so once numbers are released into the public domain.
“Bread products remain safe,” the American Bakers Association (ABA) said, adding that it supports “transparent, nationally consistent standards that protect consumers without undermining confidence in safe, consistent, accessible and affordable foods.”
What Florida found
According to the Florida Department of Health, eight bread products across five national brands were tested as part of the state’s food transparency initiative. Detectable levels of glyphosate were found in six of the eight loaves examined.
The highest levels were reported in Sara Lee Honey Wheat at 191.04 parts per billion and Nature’s Own Butter Bread at 190.23 ppb. Wonder Bread Classic White followed at 173.19 ppb, while Nature’s Own Perfectly Crafted White registered 132.34 ppb. Dave’s Killer Bread products showed lower levels. No glyphosate was detected in Sara Lee Artesano White or Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White.
In the US, glyphosate residues in food are regulated through crop-specific tolerance limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For wheat grain, the EPA tolerance is 30 parts per million, equivalent to 30,000 parts per billion, based on lifetime dietary exposure assessments across population groups, including children.
By comparison, the highest level reported in Florida’s bread testing – 191.04 parts per billion – is more than 150 times below that tolerance. All of the results published by the Florida Department of Health fall within federally permitted limits.
How other countries regulate glyphosate residues
Regulators outside the US also set legally enforceable maximum residue levels (MRLs) for glyphosate, typically by crop or commodity rather than finished foods such as bread.
In the EU, glyphosate MRLs for cereals including wheat are set under EU pesticide residue legislation and overseen by the European Food Safety Authority. Current EU MRLs for wheat and other cereals are generally set at 0.7 milligrams per kilogram (0.7 ppm or 700 parts per billion), depending on the specific commodity and approved use pattern.
The UK operates its own statutory MRL register following Brexit but has largely carried over EU-derived limits. For wheat grain, the UK MRL for glyphosate is set at 5 milligrams per kilogram (5 ppm or 5,000 parts per billion).
Australia and New Zealand, and Canada also maintain crop-specific glyphosate residue limits overseen by national pesticide regulators. In those countries, permitted residue levels for wheat grain are typically set at around 5,000 parts per billion.
While the precise numerical limits vary by jurisdiction, regulators across these markets have concluded that dietary exposure to glyphosate at or below established MRLs doesn’t pose a risk to human health, based on lifetime intake modeling across population groups.
The cumulative effect
For comparison: Florida’s highest reported bread result – 191.04 parts per billion – is equivalent to 0.191 milligrams per kilogram, well below wheat grain MRLs set in the US, EU, UK, Canada and Australia.
That regulatory context sits behind much of the industry response. Baking and grain groups argue that while modern analytical methods can detect residues at extremely low levels, the presence of glyphosate alone doesn’t indicate a food safety risk unless established thresholds are exceeded – something Florida officials haven’t claimed.
State officials, however, have stressed concerns around cumulative exposure, particularly for foods consumed daily.
“Bread is a staple food for many Florida families and they should be able to consume it without worrying about toxins,” said State Surgeon General Dr Joseph Ladapo. “Our testing found high levels of glyphosate in some popular bread brands. Chronic exposure to glyphosate is linked to harmful gut microbiome changes, liver inflammation and adverse neurologic effects.”
First Lady Casey DeSantis echoed that view, saying the findings showed “troubling levels of glyphosate” and insisting that consumers “deserve to know what chemical contaminants are in their food so that they can make informed decisions.”
Governor Ron DeSantis framed the testing as part of a broader effort to increase accountability in food systems, saying Florida would continue “working to arm Floridians with the information they need to make the best choices for their families’ wellbeing.”
Food activist Vani Hari, known as FoodBabe, also weighed in, pointing to ongoing legal and scientific disputes involving glyphosate and its manufacturer, Bayer, which acquired Monsanto. “I wish this wasn’t true, but it is,” Hari said, accusing Bayer of attempting to block lawsuits from individuals who allege they developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Roundup. She also referenced claims that some influential glyphosate safety studies were later retracted after internal company documents surfaced.
Regulators, including the EPA, have said their assessments are based on weight-of-evidence reviews drawing on multiple studies and data sources, rather than individual publications, and are periodically reassessed as part of formal review cycles.
Industry draws a line on safety and standards
The response from grain and baking groups focused squarely on regulatory standards and the way the results were presented.
In a joint statement, the American Bakers Association (ABA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and North American Millers’ Association (NAMA) said Florida’s announcement “needlessly scares consumers about trace levels of glyphosate that don’t present genuine risks.”
“Our nation’s farmers, millers and bakers proudly serve families and communities as they champion safe, consistent, accessible and affordable bread,” the statement added. “Food safety is the top priority for the grain we grow, the flour we mill and the bread we bake for all Americans.”
While acknowledging Florida’s stated goal of improving public health, the groups emphasized that glyphosate is “regulated and continuously reviewed by the US Environmental Protection Agency to ensure levels are safe for all consumers, from adults to children.”
The broader concern for the industry is how state-led testing initiatives intersect with a federally coordinated food safety system. Glyphosate tolerances are set and periodically reassessed at the national level and industry representatives warn that presenting isolated test results without that framework risks muddying public understanding of how food safety decisions are made.
Broader scrutiny, familiar fault lines
Florida’s testing doesn’t challenge federal tolerances or claim that bread on US shelves is unsafe. Instead, it changes how residue data is surfaced and who gets to interpret it – shifting the conversation from regulatory compliance to consumer perception.
For bakers and grain suppliers, that shift is uncomfortable territory. Bread is regulated, widely consumed and produced within a tightly controlled system built around national standards. But when trace detections are published without clear reference points, industry groups worry that regulatory context can get lost in translation.
Whether Florida’s approach becomes a model for other states remains to be seen. What’s clear is that bread – a staple few consumers think twice about – is now caught at the intersection of transparency, trust and a broader debate over how food safety science is communicated in real time.
Study:
Soares D, Silva L, Duarte S, Pena A, Pereira A. Glyphosate Use, Toxicity and Occurrence in Food. Foods. 2021 Nov 12;10(11):2785. doi: 10.3390/foods10112785. PMID: 34829065; PMCID: PMC8622992.
